Deflector ball game apparatus

ABSTRACT

Deflector ball game apparatus is disclosed for use with a table having a substantially flat surface providing a playing court of sufficient length to enable two players to stand and play side by side adjacent the front edge of the table. The apparatus comprises a deflector board adapted to be mounted adjacent the rear edge of the table in a generally upright position. A pair of side barriers are provided to extend along at least a portion of the sides of the table. A central barrier is also provided to extend from the deflector board across the center of the table between the side barriers.

United States Patent 11 1 Van Home 1 DEFLECTOR BALL GAME APPARATUS [76] Inventor: William J. Van Horne, PO. Box

391 13 Bolton Station, Atlanta, Ga. 30318 122] Filed: Aug. 8, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 386,531

1 June 24, 1975 744.276 10/1966 Canada 273/30 Primary Eraminer-Richard C. Pinkham Assistant Examiner-T. Brown Attorney, Agent, or FirmNewton, Hopkins & Ormsby [57] ABSTRACT Deflector ball game apparatus is disclosed for use with a table having a substantially flat surface providing a playing court of sufficient length to enable two players to stand and play side by side adjacent the front edge of the table. The apparatus comprises a deflector board adapted to be mounted adjacent the rear edge of the table in a generally upright position. A pair of side barriers are provided to extend along at least a portion of the sides of the table. A central barrier is also provided to extend from the deflector board across the center of the table between the side barriers.

3 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures 'SHEET PATENTEDJun24 I915 FIG .2

[)EFLECTOR BALI. GAME APPARATUS BACKGROUND OF THF. INVENTION This invention relates generally to deflector ball game apparatus, and particularly to deflector ball game apparatus adapted for use with tables such as, for example, those used in playing table tennis.

It is therefore a general object of the present invention to provide improved deflector ball game apparatUS.

More particularly, it is an object of the invention to provide deflector ball game apparatus which may be readily adapted for use with tables such as those used in playing table tennis, Ping Pong (trademark) and similar games.

Another object of the invention is to provide deflector ball game apparatus in which the deflector board may be mounted adjacent a table tennis table in a manner to enable players to play either table tennis or deflector ball without having to adjust the position of the deflector board.

Another object of the invention is to provide deflector ball game apparatus including a deflector board which may be permanently and aesthetically mounted to a wall without game appendages or mounts secured thereto.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide deflector ball game apparatus which may be readily adjusted to alter the tempo at which the game may be played.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In one form of the invention deflector ball game apparatus is provided for use with a table having a substantially flat top surface providing a playing court of sufficient length to enable two players to stand and play side by side adjacent the front edge of the table. The apparatus comprises a deflector board adapted to be mounted adjacent the rear edge of the table in a generally upright position. A pair of side barriers is provided which are adapted to be mounted uprightly along at least a portion of the sides of the table. The central barrier is further provided which is adapted to be mounted to extend from the deflector board uprightly across the center of the table between the side barriers.

In another form of the invention deflector ball game apparatus is provided comprising a generally rectangular table having a front edge, a rear edge. and two side edges bounding a playing court. A deflector board is mounted in an upright position in spaced, juxtaposed relation with the table rear edge. A pair of side barriers is mounted uprightly to a portion ofthe table side edges extending from the table rear edge. A central barrier is also mounted to the table extending uprightly from the table front edge to the deflector board between the side barriers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective view of deflector ball game apparatus embodying principles of the invention in one form;

FIG. 2 is a side view in elevation of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of deflector ball game apparatus embodying principles of the invention is another form;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of deflector ball game upparatus embodying principles of the invention in yet another form.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING Referring now in more detail to the drawing, there is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 deflector ball game apparatus embodying principles of the invention in one form. The apparatus includes a regulation 5 foot X 9 foot table tennis game table having a front edge 12, a rear edge 13. and two side edges 14. The top surface 15 of the table is suspended above a floor by means of table legs 17 at waist height of two players 20. A deflector board 22 is provided having a rebound surface comprised of material such as plywood. particle board, or tempered Masonite board. Board 22 is mounted by means ofa set of U-shaped clamps 25 to a set of tubular supports 24 extending vertically from floor 27. The lower portion of tubular supports 24 are secured to table legs 17 disposed adjacent table rear edge 13 by means of a horizontally extending set of telescoping tubular elements 30. One end of tubular elements 30 is secured to table legs 17 by means of clamps 32 and wing nuts 33 while the other end of the elements are similarly secured to tubular supports 24 by means of clamps 35 and wing nuts 36. The telescoping tubular elements 30 each include a wing nut 38 which, upon loosening, enables the length of the tubular element to be adjusted. This mounting assembly provides means for altering the angle at which deflector board 22 is inclined with respect to the table top surface 15. For example. in FIG. 2 the solid line position of board 22 illustrates it oriented at a normal angle with respect to table surface 15 and floor 27 whereas the dashed line position of the board illustrates it oriented at an obtuse angle with respect to the table surface and floor. This alteration in inclination is accomplished by loosening wing nut 38 of upper tubular support 30 and then lengthening the tubular support. Sufficient space is provided between the telescoping members of the upper tubular support to enable the inner portion thereof to pivot slightly downward without having to pivot the outer member. In the vertical position deflector board 22 is disposed in a plane passing some 30 inches at its closest point adjacent table rear edge 13.

The deflector ball game apparatus disclosed in FIGS. 1 and 2 also includes two side nets 40 and a central net 41 each of which is preferably 8 inches in height. One end of each side net is mounted to a rear edge corner of the table while the other end is mounted along table side edge 14. Mounting is accomplished with conventional L-bars and clamps. Central net 41 is mounted at one end with similar mounting means to the mid point of the table front edge 12 and at the other end to the lower center portion of deflector board 22. A suspension net 44 spans the spacing between table rear edge 13 and the lower edge of deflector board 22. The suspension net includes two upright side portions 45 which extend from the table rear corners to the sides of the deflector board. A standard Ping Pong ball 47 and two paddles 48 are also provided.

The just described deflector ball game apparatus may be used in one play mode as follows. One player serves to his opponent by striking the ball onto the court directly in front of himself, against the deflector board, and onto the court directly in front of his opponent. Should the ball strike either side net during the serve the opponent wins the point. Should the ball strike suspension net 44 the opponentlikewise wins the point. In the event the ball strikes net 41 and does not immediately thereafter strike the opponents court the point is similarly lost by the server; however, should the ball strike the central net and thereupon strike the opponents court no point is scored and the serve is replayed. The receiving opponent returns the ball by striking it against the deflector board and then into his opponents court without striking either the side or spanning nets. The game continues in this fashion until a player fails to return the ball against the deflector board and into the opponents court without striking a side or spanning net. 7

Should a change in game tempo be desired, deflector board game 22 may be inclined slightly downward towards table surface by shortening upper tubular support 30 or inclined slightly away from the table surface as shown in FIG. 2 in dashed lines. During the play side nets 40 act to restrict the area of play in such a manner as to prevent relatively low, fast cross shots which, for return, would require the opponent to reposition him self to the side of the table.

Referring now to FIG. 3 an alternative embodiment of the invention is shown wherein deflector board 50 may be mounted to a wall 52 rather than to the table itself. For this mounting purpose, six holes 53 are provided to receive fastening means. Side nets 55 are mounted to the sides of table 56 in a similar manner to that previously described with respect to FIGS. 1 and 2. Central net 58, on the other hand, is mounted entirely to the table rather than to the deflector board. One end of the central net is mounted by means of an L-bar and clamp to front edge 60 of the table while the other end of the net juts out over rear table edge 62 some 30 inches. The jutting end of the net is mounted to the table by two struts 63 and clamping means. An important feature of this embodiment resides in the fact that deflector board 50 may be permanently fixed to wall 52. If desired the surface of the deflector board may have decorative, artistic or game associated indicia printed thereon. A regulation table tennis table may thus be disposed in the room adjacent the deflector board and when it becomes desirable to play deflector ball regulation table tennis net may be substituted with central net 58, side nets 55 mounted, and the table positioned adjacent deflector board 50 with an end of the center net touching or positioned closely adjacent the surface of the board. The absence of more elaborate deflector board mounting means renders this embodiment quite inexpensive.

In FIG. 4 yet another alternative embodiment is illus- 'trated. The deflector ball game apparatus here is similar to that described in FIG. 3 with the exceptions that the end of the central net 66 proximal deflector board 68 is mounted directly to the deflector board rather than to table 70. This arrangement facilitates game setup though sacrifice in aesthetic appearance may occur where the net mounting to the board is permanent. It will also be noted in this embodiment that side nets 72 are of triangular shape and extend along the entire length of the table side edges. The embodiment here as well as that shown in FIG. 3 does not include nets between the suspension deflector board and table such as that shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Thus, should a ball fall in the space between the table and deflector board it will typically strike the wall below the board and be deflected generally towards a player along the floor. Of course, no spacing between the table and board is requiredat all but is merely desirable with the regulation table tennis tables. Should no spacing be desired, a relatively wide table is recommended.

Many other modifications other than those just spe cifically described may be made without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.

I claim:

1. Deflector ball game apparatus comprising a table having a substantially flat top surface providing a playing court of sufficient length to enable two players to stand and play side ,by side adjacent a first edge of said table; a deflector board mounted substantially parallel, behind and in spaced relation with a second edge of said table opposite said first edge in a generally upright position; a pair of barriers comprised of netting material mounted uprightly along at least a portion of opposite sides of said table between said first and second edges; a net mounted to extend from adjacent said deflector board uprightly over the center of said table from said deflector board substantially to said first edge, and means for securing an end of said net to a lower central portion of said deflector board.

2. Deflector ball game apparatus comprising a table having a substantially flat top surface, front, rear and side edges, said table providing a playing court of sufficient length to enable two players to stand side by side adjacent said front edge of said table; a deflector board mounted substantially parallel, behind and in spaced relation with said rear edge of said table in a generally upright position; a pair of side barriers mounted uprightly along at least a portion of said edges of said table; a net mounted uprightly over the center of said table substantially parallel and between said side barriers with an end thereof jutting over said rear edge of said table into abutment with said deflector board.

3. Deflector ball game apparatus comprising a table having a substantially flat surface providing a playing court of sufficient length to enable two players to stand and play side by side adjacent a first edge of said table; a deflector board mounted substantially parallel, behind and in spaced relation with a second edge of said table opposite said first edge in a generally upright position; a pair of barriers comprised of netting material mounted uprightly along at least a portion of opposite sides of said table between said first and second edges; a net mounted to extend from adjacent said deflector board uprightly over the center of said table from said deflector board substantially to said first edge; and means for securing an end of said net to a lower central portion of said deflector board; a suspension net suspended from a lower portion of said deflector board and from said second edge of said table. 

1. Deflector ball game apparatus comprising a table having a substantially flat top surface providing a playing court of sufficient length to enable two players to stand and play side by side adjacent a first edge of said table; a deflector board mounted substantially parallel, behind and in spaced relation with a second edge of said table opposite said first edge in a generally upright position; a pair of barriers comprised of netting material mounted uprightly along at least a portion of opposite sides of said table between said first and second edges; a net mounted to extend from adjacent said deflector board uprightly over the center of said table from said deflector board substantially to said first edge, and means for securing an end of said net to a lower central portion of said deflector board.
 2. Deflector ball game apparatus comprising a table having a substantially flat top surface, front, rear and side edges, said table providing a playing court of sufficient length to enable two players to stand side by side adjacent said front edge of said table; a deflector board mounted substantially parallel, behind and in spaced relation with said rear edge of said table in a generally upright position; a pair of side barriers mounted uprightly along at least a portion of said edges of said table; a net mounted uprightly over the center of said table substantially parallel and between said side barriers with an end thereof jutting over said rear edge of said table into abutment with said deflector board.
 3. Deflector ball game apparatus comprising a table having a substantially flat surface providing a playing court of sufficient length to enable two players to stand and play side by side adjacent a first edge of said table; a deflector board mounted substantially parallel, behind and in spaced relation with a second edge of said table opposite said first edge in a generally upright position; a pair of barriers comprised of netting material mounted uprightly along at least a portion of opposite sides of said table between said first and second edges; a net mounted to extend from adjacent said deflector board uprightly over the center of said table from said deflector board substantially to said first edge; and means for securing an end of said net to a lower central portion of said deflector board; a suspension net suspended from a lower portion of said deflector board and from said second edge of said table. 